“He loves football,” Fiero explained, proudly.
“Ah. And I’ll bet he’s good at it.”
“Very.”
Maddie’s smile lifted one side of her lips at the man’s obvious parental pride.
Fiero took the little boy from his mum, tousling his hair before placing him on the ground, walking him from the room with a doting look on his handsome features.
“So you’re a friend of Nico’s?” The brunette asked, smiling kindly and taking a seat across the room.
“I’m…” Woefully unprepared to answer questions about us, her brain supplied. “Yes.”
“Do you live here?” Elodie looked towards the view, a small sigh in her words.
“No,” Maddie rushed the word out. “I’m just here ‘til the end of the summer.” She felt Nico’s presence, just inside the door, and when she looked in that direction their eyes met and something sparked between them, something that pulled at Maddie’s stomach and scratched at her heart.
“How about you?” Maddie turned the question back on Elodie, more comfortable asking questions than answering them.
“We live in Rome.” There was happiness in that statement, a happiness that seemed to come right from the centre of the other woman’s being.
“But you’re from Australia?” Maddie prompted.
“Mmmm.” She grinned. “So I suppose I’m predisposed to adore the ocean.” She gestured towards the view. “We go to Villa Fortune most weeks, and I must admit, I find it hard to leave. Has Nico told you about it?”
Maddie frowned and Elodie apparently took that as confirmation that she hadn’t.
“It’s so beautiful. This big old Italian villa on the edge of the world. Views of the ocean in one direction, grape vines in another, the most stunning manicured gardens, as well as wild, sun-lit ones.”
“It sounds lovely,” Maddie said, silently thinking nowhere could be as beautiful as this place, here in Ondechiara where the ocean was like glass.
A moment later, a woman in a pair of skin-tight jeans and a flowing yellow top strolled into the room, a black leather bag on her shoulder, bright red lips smiling, eyes travelling around the space.
“Ciao,” she greeted the women, before moving towards Maddie. “I’m Dottore Verdi. You can call me Alessia.” She spoke English with an American accent, and she spoke it like a native, so despite her Italian name, Maddie wondered if she was actually from the States.
“Well, I hate to break it to you but I think you’ve wasted a visit up here. My ankle’s fine.”
“It’s never a wasted visit to see Nico,” she winked, and a firebug of jealousy burst through Maddie, filling her with such a rampant sense of possession that her breath was stolen for a moment. “And the view’s not too bad either, eh?” She gestured towards the sparkling ocean beyond them.
Maddie forced a smile, nodding her agreement.
Elodie moved to stand beside them.
“So what happened?”
“My son happened.” Elodie’s smile was rueful. “Hurricane Jack.”
“I fell,” Maddie grinned. “With a little help.”
Nico walked in then, his jeans low on his hips, his dark shirt doing little to disguise his rippling six pack of abs. Maddie’s mouth felt dry as she looked at him, though she was conscious of the doctor doing the same thing.
Another flare of jealousy, this one unmistakable.
“Ciao, Nico.” The blonde doctor moved to him, kissing him on one cheek, then the other, then the original cheek for good measure. It was a standard greeting in these parts but it did little to ease the green-eyed monster taking up space inside Maddie. In his hand, Nico held a tea towel which, she presumed, contained an ice-pack.
They spoke in rapid-fire Italian for a moment – too rapid-fire for Maddie to follow in her present state of mind – and then the doctor was crouching beside Maddie, a warm smile on her face. So the jealousy appeared to be one sided. Either she didn’t perceive Maddie as a threat or she didn’t realise that she and Nico were – what? Sleeping together? So what? By their own agreement, the sex thing was casual and temporary. A permanent fixture in town such as Alessia would have no need to feel jealousy towards Maddie.
She was being ridiculous, and letting her over-active author’s imagination run wildly away from herself.
“Let’s have a look.” She lifted the ankle so Maddie winced. “Sorry. It will hurt a bit.” She moved the limb carefully, watchfully, back and forth, in small circles, and then nodded.
“Your patient is right.” She shot Nico a wink. “Just a sprain.”
“It’s so swollen,” he pointed out and Maddie’s heart throbbed, because his over the top concern was obvious and adorable. It had been a long time since anyone had taken that degree of care for her. Even her mother – who was a doctor – had failed to realise Maddie had broken her collarbone for four days as a child.
“That’s normal. It’s the body’s reaction, but it will heal.” She reached for the ice pack, placing it carefully over the ankle. “Ice will help.” She turned back to Maddie. “You need to rest it as much as possible. Keep it elevated, and wrapped.” Back to Nico: “You still have bandages?”
“Of course.”
“You want me to –,”
“I’ll do it.”
Anticipation sparked inside Maddie. She liked the idea of playing doctor and patient with Nico. Colour spread through her cheeks and when her eyes clashed with Nico’s a moment later, his smile showed he was thinking a similar thing. “Thanks for coming,” he put a hand on the small of Alessia’s back, guiding her from the sofa. “I’ll be right back,” he shot the last to Maddie.
At the door, Nico paused, looking at Alessia carefully. “How have you been?”
Her smile was beautiful, but Nico could detect the falsity to it. “Fine.”
“Have you spoken to Max lately?”
Her smile dropped. She turned away from him, looking towards the ocean. “No.”
Nico shook his head slowly, wishing he could do something to shake Max into sense, but knowing his cousin – Fiero’s brother – was every bit as stubborn as Nico was. “You could call him?”
Alessia swallowed. “It’s too late. I’ve moved on.” She lifted a hand, pushing the hair from her eyes, so it was impossible to miss the engagement ring on her hand. Something dropped through Nico like a stone.
“You’re getting married?”
She jerked her gaze back to his face, her eyes showing hurt, and Christo knew she had every right to feel that. He didn’t like to criticise his cousin, but their separation had been bad, and he couldn’t believe Alessia was capable of what Max had accused her of, despite the photos that had run in the press – photos of Alessia in a passionate embrace with another man. Then again, Nico had no real sense when it came to women, if his blind trust of Claudette was anything to go by. Except Maddie? She redeemed him, surely.
“Si.”
“When?” A grim line formed a gash on Nico’s handsome face.
“Around Christmas.” Her voice was thin. “Don’t tell him, Nico.”
Nico stiffened. “He doesn’t know?”
“He’s lost any right to know anything about my life.”
“Damn it, Alessia, you know –,”
“I know nothing.” She reached a hand out, pressing her fingers to Nico’s wrist. “Leave it, bene?”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that. He’s my cousin, but more than that, he’s one of my best friends. He’s going to want to at least know that you’re planning to marry some other guy.”
Her spine straightened, her eyes clashing with his. She was completely still, her features locked into a determined mask, and then she shrugged. “Suit yourself. I don’t think he’ll care one bit, and if he does, kindly make sure he knows better than to contact me. I love you and your family, you know that, but to me, Massimo Montebello is as good as dead.” She pressed a kiss to Nico’s cheek then stepped away from him, her head held high. He watched h
er cross the lawn and step onto her Vespa, pulling a helmet onto her head so a curtain of blonde hung loose down her back.
Alessia and Max’s marriage had been five years ago, and it had lasted only months. That they’d married had surprised everyone – Max was a confirmed bachelor and Alessia little more than a teenager, studying her medical degree. Not only that, she was the much adored daughter of one of Gianfelice’s oldest friends. Though she’d always had a crush on Max, that he’d returned her feelings had completely shocked Nico. Oh, Alessia had been stunning, but so innocent and youthful, nothing like the sophisticated women Max generally spent time with.
Perhaps that was why their marriage had been doomed? Alessia had been devastated. Max had been – Nico frowned, trying to remember. He’d been much the same as before. More determined in business, more ruthless, but otherwise, you wouldn’t have known he was going through a divorce. It was business as usual for Massimo Montebello.
Nico waited until she’d accelerated away from the house then turned, moving inside to find his sister in law locked in conversation with the woman he was sleeping with. He frowned a moment – the description not quite right. Maddie was so much more than that. The realisation came to him out of nowhere but he immediately dismissed it. She wasn’t – she couldn’t be. Nonetheless, he paused on the periphery of the room, silently watchful. They looked…like old friends. They were talking quietly, both smiling, their manners relaxed.
Elodie, who had no family of her own, had quickly been adopted into the Montebello family. Yaya treated her like a granddaughter, doting on her to an almost suffocating degree, and for Nico’s part, he saw her now as his own sister. So seeing her locked in a conspiratorial conversation with Maddie did something funny to his insides. He liked the sight of them together. It felt…right.
Everything about this felt right. A sense of unease threatened the pleasure of that moment, but he refused to let it. He wasn’t a fool. The fact this felt right – damned near perfect – didn’t alter the fact it was temporary. Nothing would.
Maddie lifted her face, as though she’d sensed him, and her eyes locked to his. He smiled, and she returned it, and he put all thoughts of the future and the fact he would say goodbye to her from his mind.
Chapter 10
“YOU’RE BEING RIDICULOUS NOW.”
“Is that a complaint?”
Cradled against Nico’s chest, she considered that.
“Not exactly. But it’s been two days. I can hobble around well enough.”
“But you don’t need to when I’m here to carry you.”
She smiled. “At some point though I should probably get back to La Villetta.”
He eased her down on the edge of the pool, so her feet dangled in the water. It was bliss – a blessed relief from the sting of the day’s warmth and respite for her ankle.
“There’s no rush.”
“Is this some frustrated doctor fantasy?” She teased, running her fingertips through the water and splashing a little his way. He caught her fingers and lifted them to his lips, kissing them lightly. Butterflies burst through her.
He laughed, gruffly. “No. Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are. I’m not really the ‘tender, love and care’ kind of guy.”
It was just an expression but the idea of Nico loving and caring her – really loving and really caring for – set her pulse alight in a way that had her breath catching in her throat. “So why are you doing this?” She looked away, unable to meet his eyes, needing a moment to regroup.
“My nephew. My dog. My grass. I feel responsible.”
“Ah.” She nodded sagely. “Guilt care. I see.”
He caught her chin, drawing her face back to his, and his eyes ran over her features so slowly, so painstakingly intently that she forgot to breathe altogether.
“That,” he agreed. “And I don’t like seeing you in pain.”
Something flopped against her belly. She bit down on her lip, refusing to think of Michael, refusing to remember the pain he’d inflicted. But the comparison was impossible to ignore. Here was a man who was doing everything he could to ease her pain. He wanted, more than anything, for her to be happy.
There was such cruelty in this. Cruelty that he was Michael’s friend. Cruelty that she’d slept with him before realising their connection. Cruelty that even with all those issues put aside, he was adamantly against any kind of relationship. Their time together was like a mirage in the midst of a desert. Seemingly perfect, but not based in reality.
“It’s definitely getting better.” She slipped into the water, the coolness lapping against her sides, relaxing her even as she felt a growing sense of trouble.
“Alessia messaged this morning, to check up.”
Maddie hadn’t thought of the other woman since she’d left. Strange when she’d been assailed by such a strong sensation of jealousy. Then again, maybe it wasn’t strange. Perhaps that was part of this magical mirage she’d entered into with Nico. He made her feel so completely safe, unthreatened and content. She refused to believe he’d ever hurt her. So what if he and the stunning doctor had been together at some point? Did that matter?
Not one little bit, and yet she was a natural born question-asker, so she found herself saying, “You seemed to know her quite well?”
“Yes.” Closed off. He pulled his shirt from his body then stood, diving into the water and swimming a length before circling back and catching her around the waist.
But she wasn’t prepared to let the matter drop so easily. “Yes?”
Something like consternation shifted in his features. “She’s…an old family friend.”
“But you and she were more than that?”
“What?” Surprise was obvious. “Christo, no. Alessia and me?” He pulled a face then laughed. “Definitely not.”
“Oh.” And despite the fact she’d just told herself she wasn’t jealous, relief was unmistakable.
“Why would you think that?”
She lifted her shoulders. “You just seemed to know each other well.”
“We’re friends. You don’t have guy friends?”
“I don’t want you seeing him ever again.”
“He’s just a friend, Michael. I’ve known him for years.”
“I don’t give a crap. I saw the way he was looking at you, and dressed like that, what do you expect? You might as well go and strip naked for the guy. I mean it, Madeleine. Never again.”
“Not really.” Her smile was tight and she saw his eyes narrow, she knew he understood more than what she’d said.
“Alessia is…she and my cousin Max – Fiero’s brother – were married, briefly.”
“Were?”
“They’re divorced now. It was unpleasant.” He compressed his lips, looking away from her for a moment.
“I’m sorry to hear that. She was wearing a wedding ring?”
“Engagement,” he corrected. “Apparently she’s getting married to someone else.”
“How does Max feel about that?”
“He doesn’t know.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“Yes.” Then, after a small pause. “Do you think I shouldn’t?”
Maddie considered that a moment. “I don’t know enough of the details.” Then, lifting a finger to his lips. “And I’m not prying. It’s their private business, I don’t need to know the ins and outs. But I can’t possibly advise you what to do. The circumstances would make all the difference.” She toyed with the ends of her hair thoughtfully. “Why do you think you should tell him?”
“Because I’d want to know.”
“If Claudette was getting married?”
He looked visibly surprised so she wondered if he hadn’t been thinking about Claudette. Perhaps there was someone else in his past that he considered to be the ‘one that got away’.
“I suppose I would,” he admitted reluctantly. “But only so I could make sure Alexander’s best interests were being served. That is to say, to be sure the g
uy wasn’t a drug addict or similar.” He lifted his powerful shoulders so droplets of water trickled down them, glistening in the afternoon sun like diamonds. “What about you and your ex?”
She shook her head. “Honestly? I want to forget he even exists.” She shuddered.
“Not even to warn whoever he’s with next?”
A lump of grief built inside Maddie. “I’ve thought about that,” she admitted with a soft nod. “I’ve agonised over it. I wish I’d gone to the police, so at least there was some record – but I didn’t, and now? I don’t know. I think if I spent the rest of my life trying to warn everyone away from him, bitterness would consume me. I need to draw a line in the sand and forget about him. I need to do that.”
He nodded, lifting a hand and stroking her cheek softly, gently. They were silent a moment, a warm silence of understanding.
“I liked Elodie very much.”
“You and me both.” He grimaced, the expression in contradiction to his words.
“What is it?” She knew he was holding something back, thinking something he wasn’t saying.
“I was just thinking how lucky we all are that she has such a forgiving temperament.”
“Oh?”
“We were all angry with her, when she arrived in Fiero’s life. Jack was a toddler. Fiero had no idea he was a father.”
Maddie’s intake of breath was sharp. “Really?”
“We found it hard to accept that. There was a little Montebello out there and none of us knew about him.”
“I can see why.”
He shook his head. “There are two sides to every story, and she had her reasons. We were blinded by love and loyalty for Fiero; we didn’t exactly give Elodie a chance.”
“You regret that?”
“Si.” His eyes narrowed. “I should have encouraged Fiero to put himself in her shoes, instead of blindly taking his side.”
“I can understand why you’d have regrets, but really, that’s a perfectly natural response. If someone hurts a member of your family, you take their part.”
He grunted. “I suppose so.”
“Anyway, all’s well that ends well.”
Billionaire Brides: An Anthology Page 57